| No. 76 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Nose tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | April 8, 1957 Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 295 lb (134 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Waltham | ||||||||
| College: | Boston College | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1979 / round: 2 / pick: 32 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Frederic Charles Smerlas (born April 8, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a nose tackle for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). A five-time Pro Bowl selection with the Buffalo Bills, he also played for the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots.
Smerlas, of Greek-American descent, graduated from Waltham High School in 1975, where he was a star football player and wrestler.[1] He became a defensive lineman for Boston College before embarking on an NFL career.[2] Smerlas' 1990 autobiography, By a Nose, recounts his 11 years with the Bills and their climb from cellar-dwellers to Super Bowl contenders.
Smerlas currently resides in Massachusetts and is a part-time co-host during football season on sports radio WEEI-FM, NBC Sports Boston - The New England Tailgate Show, as well as a contributor to western New York radio station WHAM (AM) in Rochester.
In 2018, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Smerlas to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.[3]
Two Time, Two sport All American in Wrestling and Football in High School; Two time New England heavyweight wrestling champ.
During Smerlas' playing career, he was the only player in the NFL who was of Greek descent.[4]
- ^ "Hail The High School Wrestler | All Sports WNY". Retrieved November 12, 2024.
- ^ "Fred Smerlas (1994) - Varsity Club Hall of Fame". Boston College Athletics. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
- ^ "PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018". Retrieved September 20, 2019.
- ^ Glionna, John M. "The Gore, Guts and Horror of an NFL Fumble Pile". SB Nation. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
Now in his 60s, Smerlas was a five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection during a 14-year career as a nose tackle with the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. No pushover between the lines, he was then the only Greek player in the NFL, with a 6'3, 270-pound body filled out by dolmades, bougatsa and baklava.